Arterial Stiffness and Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Arterial Hypertension: CAVI and haSTART Index

Introduction Increased arterial stiffness is recognized as one of the established risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), including the onset of cognitive impairment (CogI) and vascular dementia. Aim The objective of our study was to investigate the relationship between the cardio‐ankle vascular index (CAVI) and the STELARI heart–ankle STiffness of ARTeries (haSTART) index in patients diagnosed with arterial hypertension (HTN) devoid of comorbidities. The secondary aim of the study was to explore the association of these indices with CI in patients with HTN. Methods Arterial stiffness was assessed using CAVI and the haSTART index. Cognitive status of all patients was obtained via the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Results A total cohort of 128 patients (55 men and 73 women, aged 35–79 years) was incorporated into the single‐center study, comprising 96 subjects with essential HTN (Group 1) and 32 with no HTN in history (Group 2—controls). A robust correlation was observed upon examining CAVI and the haSTART index in all subjects ( r = 0.977, p < 0.001). Moreover, significant correlations were identified between the MoCA results and CAVI ( r = −0.502, p = 0.001) and the haSTART index ( r = −0.512, p = 0.001). Conclusion The results of the study indicated a relationship between arterial stiffness and CI, as evidenced by the association between CAVI and MoCA results. Furthermore, we identified for the first time a correlation between the haSTART index and MoCA, thereby reflecting the association between arterial stiffness and CI.